X-Ray Diffraction Analysis Results of altered rock samples from Rambi gold target, Western Kenya
Description
The method was undertaken on altered minerals to identify different clay minerals and note the minerals resulting from hydrothermal activities. Clay minerals are characterized by their layered structure, which results in a series of basal reflections with evenly spaced d-spacings. The d-spacing, the distance between adjacent layers, is influenced by the type of clay mineral and the interlayer cations. The relative intensities of the basal reflections also vary among clay minerals, providing additional information for identification. The diffraction process is mainly used to identify the crystal structure of the sample by expanding the interlayer spacing (d-spacing) of clay minerals, making it easier to distinguish between different types of clay minerals. Additional techniques, such as ethylene glycol solvation (in an oven at 60°C for 12 hours) and heating at 550°C (for two hours in the furnace oven) treatments are applied to differentiate further particular clay minerals that have similar d-spacings in their untreated state. The X-ray Diffractometer analysis is used to identify individual minerals present in rock or soil samples including clays and pyrite.
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Steps to reproduce
The samples were prepared for X-ray diffraction by crushing into a fine powder and dissolving in a test tube half full of distilled water. Few drops of the dispersed sample solutions are then mounted on marked glass slides and left to dry for 24 hours. The remaining sample solutions are glycolated followed by heating at 550 degrees Celsius for two hours. The three treated samples are analyzed as follows: (i) diffraction of the air-dried samples (A), (ii) diffraction of the glycolated samples that were solvated with ethylene glycol in an oven at 60 oC for 12 hours (G) (iii) diffraction of samples that were heated at 550 oC for two hours in the furnace oven (H). A Shimadzu 6000 Diffractometer, with CuKα radiation (at 40 kV and 50mA), automatic divergence slit, fine receiving slit, and graphite monochrometer was used for the analyses. Count data were collected from 2°-35° at intervals of 0.02°, 2θ for a time of 1 second. Obtained raw data were converted to Bruker files using PowDLL conversion software and analyzed using EVA evaluation software. The resultant diffractograms were evaluated by determining the 2θ angles and the intensities of the various peaks and the results are shown.